Hurt the Same
by hufflepuff-ish
Summary: Ginny finds Harry in Godric's Hollow, hurting because of the war. They let each other known that they have one another and hurt together. [One Shot]


ROUND TEN

Main prompt: 1990's: One Sweet Day — Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men

Optional prompts: 1 (location) Godric's Hollow, 10 (word) luminous, 13 (word count) 2,000

 **(Word count on Word: 2,000 not including the Author's Note)**

 **Thank you for Erica and Xanda for betaing, as always.**

* * *

Godric's Hollow is supposed to be a nice village; at least that's how Ginny Weasley always imagines it. Yet, now, when she is standing in the middle of it and looking around for a wizard with glasses and a lightning bolt shaped-scar, she thinks the exact opposite. The streets are grey and abandoned, it's so quiet around her that she can hear birds chirp in the distance, and if it wasn't for the few lit windows, she would have thought everyone forgot this place even exists. The sun has disappeared almost completely in the horizon and, for some reason, not a single street light is turned on, allowing the shadows to cover the lonely village.

She isn't used to being scared of places—especially not since she'd been in the Chamber of Secrets—but the village is sending a chill through her body. Ginny lifts the wand that she has been holding tightly in her hand from the moment she Apparated here from the Burrow. After she quietly mutters a spell, a luminous spot appears at the end of her wand, allowing her to see better. The redhead remembers the directions that Hermione gave her earlier and starts walking to her right. Her steps are slow and quiet. She would rather draw as little attention to her as possible—or even better, no attention at all. The war has been over for almost two months now, but a part of her is still a bit paranoid and would rather be cautious.

The witch's bright brown eyes wander around as she makes her way through Godric's Hollow, studying the place where the life of the boy that she loves began and, of course, where the life of his parents ended. Her hopes of finding Harry here are temporarily pushed to the side, while she feels glad—she isn't sure that 'glad' is the right word to use, but it's the closest to what she feels—that she has the opportunity to visit the village because of its importance to his life.

At first, she doesn't notice him and begins to think of going back to the Burrow to tell everyone that no, Harry isn't in Godric's Hollow either. The entire Weasley family has been looking for him for hours now because he disappeared in the morning and hasn't been seen since. She knows that he might want some space and that her family can be overwhelming, but he's the Boy Who Lived, which means even though Voldemort is gone for good, he can't disappear without worrying everyone close to him.

Then, when she turns to head back to the Apparition point, she sees him. With his raven-colored hair and dark shirt, she understands how she missed him between the shadows, silently sitting on a stone bench. Ginny's body relaxes at the sight and she heads towards him. He doesn't seem to notice her, or maybe just doesn't acknowledge her, which makes a small part of her scold him for being so uncareful. But then again, she's the one holding out a wand with a shining end in the middle of a Muggle town.

Halfway towards Harry, he raises one hand to wipe away his tears angrily. Ginny feels almost taken aback by the fact that he is crying and stops walking for a few seconds. Her heart clenches in her chest. Suddenly, he notices her, his lips parted in surprise. That is everything that the girl needs to continue walking. His head hangs lower as he turns to look at the ground, and she wonders if it's from sadness or from shame.

''All right, love?'' Ginny says when she stops next to him.

Harry doesn't say anything and she decides to take a seat beside him. As she does, she looks at him, wondering if maybe he'll protest, but he keeps his gaze set forward and doesn't seem to mind.

The silence between the two of them makes the witch nervous. Growing up in her family, she isn't used to people being so quiet. She knows that the fitting thing to do is give Harry space and wait for him to start talking to her, but she so badly wants to tell him how worried she was.

''We've been looking for you,'' Ginny says eventually, unable to let the silence continue any further.

Her boyfriend nods slowly. She wants to cheer for getting some sort of reaction out of him. Because of the war, he tends closes himself off from time to time and whenever he does, she can't help but feel worried and fear that he will let the darkness inside of him consume him. As long as he keeps talking to someone about it and letting someone in, even not necessarily her, there will be a way to help him—hopefully.

After waiting for a few more seconds, the redhead realizes that it isn't as much of a breakthrough as she would like it to be. She bites her lower lip, wondering what else she could say. She can ask how he's doing; however, the answer to that question is obvious. It leaves her with one question ringing in her head.

''Harry,'' she says hesitantly. ''What are you doing here?''

The reason why she's asking that question is that, although this place must mean a lot to Harry, she doesn't think it brings back any good memories. On top of that, from what Hermione has told her, there isn't much for him here apart from a broken house and his parents' graves.

''That day the battle ended, I talked to them.''

Harry's voice surprised her.

''To my mum and dad. They told me that I've been brave, that they're proud of me. And… Sirius and Professor Lupin were there too…''

There is a long pause and Ginny needs to hold herself back from urging him to continue what he was saying.

''We won, it's great, yes, but at what cost?'' he says as his green eyes finally meet hers again, shining with unshed tears. ''We lost so many good people. All these funerals I've been attending… It's my fault.''

The girl swallows at his words. Since the war ended, funerals have been taking place every few days and Harry has been attending a big part of them. It doesn't matter if the person being buried is someone close to him, or a classmate, or a Hogwarts student he barely knew; he's always there. Now she is finally seeing how much it has been tearing him apart.

''Don't you dare say that,'' she tells him softly. ''All those people who died, they didn't die because of you. They died because of Voldemort's blind prejudice and because all of those arseholes that followed him. You were trying to do the right thing, to help, and no one knows it better than you do. It's not your fault, Harry.''

Harry stares at her with his wide eyes, obviously surprised at her words. ''Ginny— ''

However, Ginny is not listening. ''My brother wasn't there just for you. Neither were Professor Lupin or Tonks. Sure, they wanted to help you, but, above all, they wanted to help make this world better. That's why they were willing to fight, even if it meant they'd die.''

There were other things she wants to tell him, but she realizes that she is crying and stops herself. Her hands are shaking as she wipes away her tears. When she feels herself being pulled into a hug, she doesn't protest. Harry holds her closely as she lies her head on his shoulder. He pushes a few strands of hair away from her face and behind her ear, and then repeats the caressing so softly that it helps her calm down.

The redhead isn't actually angry at him. She loves Harry, but often he needs a reminder that he isn't awful or bad. As they sit there, mourning together the people they lost, she feels the closest to him she ever had.

''I can't help but blame myself, Gin,'' he whispers to her. ''I was thinking about everyone I care about and all the people that I'm never going to see again and I…''

The rest of the sentence seems to get stuck in Harry's throat and the silence leaves his unspoken words as a mystery to the redhead. However, she can guess what he feels and thinks since she has had the exact thought he mentioned cross her mind several times since the war ended. She sits up and wipes away the tears that were still rolling down her cheeks, leaving trails on her skin.

''We are going to see them again.''

Harry frowns and says, ''What do you mean?''

''After we die, I think that our souls go to a better place. You know…" She hesitates, not wanting to bring up any more terrible memories. "Beyond the Veil. So, I think that we are going to see again everyone who died,'' she finishes confidently and attempts to smile.

Again, Harry looks surprised.

''I have to believe it so I can keep going,'' Ginny adds quietly. ''Keep… living.''

The death of her brother has been difficult on the entire Weasley family. She, who for some reason never pictured it being Fred who died, had to find a way to keep herself strong. The way Ginny sees it, she could either drown in despair or fight to stay strong—she knows she is a fighter.

A look of understanding replaces his confused one. He nods and pulls her toward him, wrapping his arms around her. Her body relaxes into his embrace. Maybe she's biased because she loves him, but Harry might be her favorite person to comfort her. In her opinion, because he has lived through many things in his life, not necessarily good, he can understand better than others. And the subject of loss and grieving is too familiar to him. At least they have each other.

The witch's thoughts slip away to her family. She thinks of how relieved they will be to know that Harry is found and safe. She reminds herself that it's her responsibility to tell them any news, otherwise, they'll have no way of knowing. Considering everything that they are already dealing with, she feels guilty for making them worry longer than needed.

''We should get back, Mum must be going mad,'' Ginny says, breaking the silence with what is supposed to be light humor, but is actually an attempt to disguise the small stab she feels in her chest.

With a knowing chuckle, Harry agrees with her. The two notice a few Muggles pass by and decide to find a quiet alley down the street to Apparate. They walk side by side, their fingers intertwined. On their way, Ginny realizes his pace has slowed. When she follows his gaze to a rundown house, she notices that the sign at the entrance says 'The Potters'. The house itself looks ruined and neglected, but the sign looks as good as new, probably the only part of the house that hasn't been affected.

Ginny's heart aches to say something, but she decides to stay silent. From the very beginning, when she only got to know him, it always hurt her to think of all the pain and the suffering Harry has been through in his remotely short life. The thing that brings her comfort is that now, at least as it seems to her, his much is much better and filled with love.

''Let's go home,'' Harry says, pulling her to an opening between two buildings and tearing her gaze away from his first home in the process.

The words make the redhead smile and she gives his hand a squeeze. He squeezes back, the corners of his mouth slightly turning up. She makes a small movement with her wand, Apparating them to a very different place that she hopes will truly make Harry feel like he's finally come home, away from any pain or darkness.


End file.
